Re: MFM drive gone nuts

>Not quite; we're talking about the same computers, interface and file 
>systems.

The MFM controller card has a CPU and it's own proprietary software, making 
it just as important as your motherboard and filesystem.
How the MFM controller works isn't part of the ISA or ST506 standard, the 
same as the format and the filesystem of a floppy disk isn't part of 
shuggart.

The only way to fix the problem would have been to force all MFM controller 
cards to work the same way.

>That was probably the best thing about IDE; it combined the controller and 
>drive in one package with a common logical interface;

You still have the same problem if the controller card on the IDE drive 
dies. It's worse as there is no guarantee the interface is the same and the 
controller firmware is on the drive. Unless the firmware on the drive is 
compatible with the controller you have fitted then you won't get anything 
working unless you have access to the tools used to load the firmware in the 
factory (which is generally unlikely).


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